Chautala Directed to Appear Before Delhi High Court Today

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Thursday directed former Haryana CM Om Prakash Chautala to appear before it on Friday on the CBI’s plea for cancellation of his bail and immediate surrender for allegedly violating bail conditions.

Justice Siddharth Mridul said that the need for giving Chautala a hearing could not be done away. The CBI had approached the court alleging that Chautala, who has been out on bail on medical grounds, was campaigning for the upcoming Haryana Assembly elections.

“I am painfully aware of it as how he has been misusing medical certificates,” the judge observed.The CBI claimed that Chautala was mocking the court and pleaded before it to direct him to immediately surrender. The former CM, who has been convicted and sentenced to 10 years jail term in the JBT teachers recruitment scam case, had on September 26 volunteered to surrender after which the court had fixed October 17.

The CBI, in its fresh plea, has also sought a direction to the Gurgaon-based Medanta hospital to explain as to how an ‘ailing’ Chautala was allowed take part in the election campaign. During the hearing, the court pulled up the CBI for not keeping it aware about the activities of the leader and said, “You (CBI) cannot be unaware of the political activities of a leader of his (Chautala) stature”.

However, lawyer Rajdipa Behura, said the CBI, besides seeking cancellation of the bail, is also requesting advancing of Chautala’s date of surrender, which is currently fixed on October 17. Chautala had volunteered to surrender as the court was about to order constitution of a medical board of doctors from the AIIMS to opine on the necessity of keeping Chautala hospitalised, as he had addressed a rally at Jind in Haryana on Sep  25.

A special CBI court on Jan 22, 2013, had convicted and sentenced Chautala, his son Ajay and eight others to 10 years each in jail for illegally recruiting 3,206 junior teachers in 2000.